Harmony amidst mandir-masjid row

As Bidar dargah, Idgah and the Gyanvapi mosque issues continue to keep the Mandir-Masjid row simmering in the country, it is important to look deep into our traditions and retrieve interesting, exemplary practices of communal harmony. Here is one.

In a village called Khaderabad (now the Mylavaram dam) at Jammalamadugu, a small town in Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, Hindus and Muslims observe what may seem a strange strange religious practice. According to the traditional historical sources, or stalapurana, Hindus who visit this place initially offer prayers at a dargah of a Muslim saint Pir Gaibushah Vali located on a hill, before they offer their prayers to Lord Shiva, known here as Gurappa.

As per the local legend, once Lord Shiva in the human form rode on a horse in this arid land, currently near Mylavaram dam, and became thirsty. Since there was not a drop of water in the barren land, a Muslim saint named Gaibushah residing and tending a herd of goats nearby, instantly slit the throat of a goat and quenched the lord’s thirst with the animal’s blood. The place where Lord Shiva quenched his thirst in his human form is now the sanctum for the mud Shivling. The sanctum has no roof but the mud linga does not get swept away even in the torrential rains.

The reverence the local Hindus have towards Gaibushah Vali is noteworthy. As if to continue his tradition, followers of Gurappa in the Jammalamadugu region offer animal sacrifice on several important occasions. The village is an important pilgrim centre for the Hindu as well as the Muslim devotees -- Hindus visit the dargah before worshipping Gurappa and Muslims venerate the Neem tree planted next to the dargah, a typical Hindu tradition.

Now, when we look into the annals of Indian history, it is an established fact that from the late 12th century onwards Muslim empires began to rise to authority throughout the subcontinent, the prominent ones being Delhi Sultanate and Mughals who adopted local culture. They developed their own culture and traditions through intermarriages with natives. It is also true that a few despotic Muslim rulers plundered and destroyed temples and erected mosques over the ruins.

Likewise, there were a few benevolent Muslim monarchs who upheld the values of the land and also ingrained efficient administrative system. The Muslim rule in India, which lasted for nearly 500 years until the British established their supremacy in Bengal after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, saw a major shift in the cultural, linguistic and religious makeup of the country as much as the European colonisers did. Therefore, whether it was the Muslim emperors or the British administrators, both had left their own imprints on the course of Indian history. Both arrived on Indian soil as foreign invaders, exploited Indian wealth but correspondingly influenced the Indian culture and became a part of it. It’s just impossible to simply wish this truth away.

Vested interests have always tried to arouse communal apprehensions for their own personal gains. India has witnessed much religious animosity post independence leading to bloodshed and violence -- the Kashmiri pundit exodus, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Godhra massacre, the Gujarat riots, beef politics -- all in the name of religion. Why are the communal brawls frequently eventuating in India? The response lies in tracing the roots of communalism to the British imperialism in our country when they adopted the policy of ‘divide & rule’. The partition of Bengal in 1905 introduced by Lord Curzon sowed the seeds of communal venom resulting in the formation of Muslim league in 1906.

Though Gandhi was successful in ushering in Hindu-Muslim unity, which was evident in 1920 when Ali brothers joined hands with him to launch Non-Cooperation Movement against the British, the unity was short lived. The wrangles continued to exist between the two communities sprouting the spread of communal disharmony. Gandhi stood for communal unity but to keep the unity in the later years became an arduous task. To him, communal unity meant that whatever a person’s religion, he should identity with everyone and respect other faiths. Religion is meant to help spirituality evolve in man, not to make him tread the path of coercion. When religion can be manipulated isn’t it only a gross distortion of the idea of civilisation?

(The writer is with the Department of History, St. Claret PU College, Bengaluru)